So seeing as the day after tomorrow we are playing a pretty big football game against Illinois, I figured it may be appropriate to actually, you know, discuss this. Here are some relevant statistics for the game Saturday:

Quarterbacks:

Illinois

Yds

Comp %

Y/A

TD/Int

Nathan Scheelhaase

1099

61.45

6.6

10/7

Michigan

Yds

Comp %

Y/A

TD/Int

Denard Robinson

1509

65.06

9.1

10/5

Tate Forcier

349

73.17

8.5

2/2

Devin Gardner

85

70.00

8.5

1/0

Overall Statistics:

Offense

Avg

Yards

Pass

Rush

Y/R

Y/A

ILL
MICH

26.9
35.4

337.5
518.4

143.1
242.9

194.4
275.5

4.5
6.4

6.5
9.0

Defense

Avg

Yards

Pass

Rush

Y/R

Y/A

ILL
MICH

16.8
30.0

301.4
440.2

183.9
290.5

117.5
149.8

3.6
4.0

5.9
8.2

Last 3 Games:

Offense

Avg

Yards

Pass

Rush

Y/R

Y/A

ILL
MICH

31.0
25.3

311.7
440.7

156.0
246.7

155.7
194.0

3.8
4.9

6.5
7.6

Defense

Avg

Yards

Pass

Rush

Y/R

Y/A

ILL
MICH

16.3
37.7

295.7
451.3

177.3
261.7

118.3
189.7

3.6
4.6

5.7
10.1

Michigan Stats/Rankings:

Offense

Record

Rank

Total Yards

518.4

4

Passing Yards

242.9

43

Rushing Yards

275.5

8

Points Scored

35.4

19

Field Goal %

33.3

119

Defense

Record

Rank

Total Yards

440.2

106

Passing Yards

290.5

117

Rushing Yards

149.8

57

Points Allowed

30

89

Field Goal %

88.9

103

Illinois Stats/Rankings:

Offense

Record

Rank

Total Yards

337.5

85

Passing Yards

143.1

111

Rushing Yards

194.4

24

Points Scored

26.9

62

Field Goal %

88.2

14

Defense

Record

Rank

Total Yards

301.4

15

Passing Yards

183.9

19

Rushing Yards

117.5

26

Points Allowed

16.8

12

Field Goal %

83.3

89

Illinois Injury Report:

Player

Injury

Status/Updated

Notes

Jarred Fayson

WR

Leg

Prob Sat - 11/3/10

Fayson is recovering from a leg injury but is expected to play Saturday against Michigan.

Jason Ford

RB

Ankle

Prob Sat - 11/1/10

Ford missed last game against Purdue due to an ankle injury but has been upgraded to probable for Saturday's game against Michigan.

Steve Hull

WR

Ankle

Prob Sat - 11/4/10

Hull missed last game against Purdue due to an ankle injury but expects to play Saturday against Michigan.

Russell Ellington

LB

Shoulder

Ques Sat - 10/31/10

Ellington missed last game against Purdue due to a shoulder injury and remains questionable for Saturday's game against Michigan.

Corey Lewis

OL

Knee

out for season - 9/3/10

Lewis will miss the entire 2010 season after tearing his ACL in a spring game.

Supo Sanni

DB

Achilles

out for season - 9/1/10

Sanni will miss the entire 2010 season after rupturing his right Achilles tendon.

So there you go. Let's talk Illinois. Illinois has a tough defense but their passing offense is one of the worst in the nation. Now our defense can certainly make anyone look good, but our team has a tendency to rotate on/off games. I think this game is at least competitive with Illinois winning 31-28 due to some missed opportunities on offense.

Thread rules: no talk about NCAA rulings, Rodriguez's job security, or who should replace GERG.

OK, I've been on the RR hate bandwagon since the Penn State loss. However, I've taken a breath and cooled off a bit.

I think we may be in good shape at Michigan. Since the State game it's been three bad bad weeks. But we all no how this sport is, it's up and down, sentiments change quickly. We're favored in the next two games. We'll be dogs in the following two. If the season plays out in that manner, plus a bowl game, we will either be 8-5 or 7-6. Our Big Ten record will be 3-5. I think this would be enough, considering the potential we have, to stay the course.

What would make this decision really easy would be an upset of Wisco or OSU and/or a bowl win. I think people underestimate how possible these things are. Yes our defense is horrible, but all it would take would be a couple opportune fumbles or interceptions and we could be in any one of those games.

I don't know. I'm going back and forth. But after cooling off I'm going into this Illinois game cautiously optimistic.

This weekly update will be a little sparse. Since there was a bye then an away game, there wasn't much that happened that I haven't reported already. This weekend should be a good one, however, with the Dr. Phillips clan coming to town.

If you ever have any tips you would like to pass along, please email me at [email protected]. As always you can get more updates from me on Twitter, as well.

Illinois Visitors

As usual I will post this in a separate diary since the names will change as we get closer to the date. This is the only thing I'm going to say as far as everyone asking about a potential "secret recruit' visiting this weekend. I have confirmed he's coming, and I will let you know who it is when they give me the OK to tell you.

Safety Roderick Ryles (6'1", 185 lbs, 3 Star): Currently committed to Arkansas, but he has said numerous times that anything can happen. If he likes this visit, I would expect Michigan to be a heavy contender.

Linebacker Darryl Monore (6'1", 215 lbs, 3 Star): Darryl has not been offered by Michigan, but will be making the trip up this weekend. Currently committed to Washington State, he has said that basically means nothing and it's as soft a commit as you can be.

Safety Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix (6'2", 190 lbs, 5 Star): Alabama commit coming up for the second time. I was a little optimistic until I spoke with someone in Florida that I trust. They said Ha'Sean is definitely committed to Alabama, and it would be hard to get him away from that. We'll see what happens.

Wide Receiver Chris Gallon (6'5", 205 lbs, 3 Star): Chris does not have an offer, although the coaches have told him they're reviewing his film. It seems as though Chris may be a back up plan for Michigan at wide receiver.

Quarterback Nick Patti (5'10", 180 lbs, 2012 Recruit): Nick has consistently said that Michigan is one of his favorites.

Will Mahone

5'11", 205 lbs.

Running Back

Austintown, Ohio

Will Mahone was in Ann Arbor this year to watch a Michigan game already, and this week traveled to Pennsylvania to see the Penn State game. He got a two for one, as he got to check out both the Lions and Wolverines offense.

It's great to have a quarterback like Denard, we have a versatile quarterback, too, so that's good. (Michigan's) running back (Vincent) Smith looks like he's good too. They had a rough game, but they made a little comeback too.

Mahone plays in a spread offense now that uses a lot of read options, much like Michigan. The new recruiting rules have slowed down offers, but Will is still hearing from a good amount of big time schools.

Alabama, Penn State, Oregon, Virginia, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Michigan and Notre Dame are all still sending letters. I have an offer from Cincinnati, too.

While running back may not be a big priority for Michigan in the 2012 class, Mahone would be a good option.

Extra:

Instate linebacker Desmond Morgan was offered, and will likely visit after his season is done.

I've been mostly successful this season at keeping my editorial voice out of the weekly wallpapers. However, this week poses several challenges in the "making fun of the opponent" category: a team with a Native American nickname and a program with no discernible traditions. Combine that with my utter disgust after Saturday's game and this is what you get. Actually, I had already finalized the concept for this Illinois wallpaper BEFORE the Penn State game and the original title was "They Be Illin'" but now it is me and you, fellow Michigan fan, who are doin' the illin'. I've changed the title to reflect how I feel at this point in the season; I was so disappointed after the loss at Happy Valley that I almost posted a completely blank wallpaper with the vow to continue posting blank wallpapers until the next win but, after three consecutive losses, designing these wallpapers is the one thing that helps me to move on emotionally (like art therapy).

That said, I haven't completely abandoned hope that this team can meet my original pre-season expectation of 7 wins and I'm firmly in the "let's wait until the last game is played before we cry for firings and lynchings and the like" camp. Here's to hoping that by late on Saturday afternoon we will all have moved on from illin' to celebratin' 6 wins and bowl eligibility.

I had several versions of this wallpaper bouncing around my head last week: everything from tackle twill letters on a retro track jacket to a blinged-out gold chain with diamond-encrusted letters ala Run DMC. I like where this ended up much better; the hoodie and lettering feel appropriately distressed and it gave me a very natural way to turn the last "I" into an apostrophe.

The image below is a preview only. You can get this week's widescreen, 4:3, iPad and mobile wallpapers at The Art. The Art. The Art!.

Perhaps you can answer this question for me. I'm utterly confused. Why did a delivery man just show up in OSU gear, including a shirt that said, "To Do List: Beat M; Beat I", Where M is a Michigan M and I is an Illini I. Where's that hate coming from? I didn't know Illinois mattered that much to OSU.